Netanyahu orders 'intensive' West Bank operations after Israel bus blasts

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered an "intensive operation against centers of terrorism" in the occupied West Bank, his office said, after three buses exploded in central Israel without causing any reported injuries.

Three devices detonated on buses in the city of Bat Yam on Thursday evening and two others were being defused, according to police, with Israel's defence minister accusing "Palestinian terrorist" groups of being behind the blasts.

Netanyahu's office said on social media early Friday that he had completed a security assessment with top officials, ordering fresh counterterrorism operations as well as stepped up security in Israeli cities.

"The Prime Minister has ordered the IDF (military) to carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu's office said on X, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

"The Prime Minister also ordered the Israel Police and the ISA (internal security agency) to increase preventative activity against additional attacks in Israeli cities," he added.

A large number of police were deployed to search for suspects after the "suspected terror attack", the police force said in a statement.

"Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects. We urge the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items," it added.

Tzvika Brot, the mayor of Bat Yam, said in a video statement that there were "no injured in these incidents".

Security forces and bomb disposal units were seen by an AFP journalist as they inspected the remains of destroyed buses.

Israeli media said that bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their vehicles for additional explosive devices.

  'Intensify' West Bank raids 

A police commander from central Israel, Haim Sargarof, said in a televised briefing that the devices used to set off the blasts were similar to those found in the West Bank.

Separately, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he ordered the military to "intensify operations to thwart terrorism" in West Bank refugee camps, particularly Tulkarem.

The military has been carrying out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and camps for several weeks now targeting Palestinian militants.

Multiple Palestinian civilians have also been killed in the raids, while Israeli security forces have destroyed homes and infrastructure.

The military operation has displaced more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has escalated since the October 2023 outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip.

At least 897 Palestinians including militants have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

At least 32 Israelis, including some soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or confrontations during Israeli operations in the West Bank over the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

Arab leaders gather in Saudi Arabia to hash out Gaza plan

Arab leaders were gathering in Saudi Arabia on Friday to hammer out a recovery plan for Gaza aimed at countering President Donald Trump's proposal for US control of the territory and the expulsion of its people.

Trump's plan has united Arab states in opposition, but disagreements remain over who should govern the war-ravaged Palestinian territory and how to fund its reconstruction.

Trump triggered global outrage when he proposed the United States "take over the Gaza Strip" and relocate its 2.4 million people to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.

A source close to the Saudi government told AFP Arab leaders would discuss "a reconstruction plan to counter Trump's plan for Gaza".

The Gaza Strip is largely in ruins after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas, with the United Nations recently estimating that rebuilding would cost more than $53 billion.

Meeting with Trump in Washington on February 11, Jordan's King Abdullah II said Egypt would present a plan for a way forward.

The Saudi source said the talks would discuss "a version of the Egyptian plan".

Rebuilding Gaza will be a key issue, after Trump cited reconstruction as justification for relocating its population.

Cairo has yet to announce its initiative, but former Egyptian diplomat Mohamed Hegazy outlined a plan "in three technical phases over a period of three to five years".

The first phase, lasting six months, would focus on "early recovery" and the removal of debris, he said.

The second would require an international conference to provide details of reconstruction and focus on rebuilding utility infrastructure.

And the final one, Hegazy said, would entail urban planning, the reconstruction of housing, provision of services and the establishment of a "political track to implement the two-state solution".

Israel says hostage body returned by Hamas not Bibas mother

Israel said Friday that one of the bodies returned from Gaza is not that of Shiri Bibas, as claimed by Hamas, and accused Palestinian "terrorists" of killing her two boys who have become symbols of the hostages' ordeal.

Thousands of mourning Israelis had observed a moment of silence Thursday in honour of four dead hostages returned by Hamas, the first handover of bodies under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said the remains included those of Bibas and her two young sons, whose father was released by the militant group this month.

On Friday, however, Israel said the body purporting to be Shiri Bibas's did not belong to her and "does not match any other kidnapped individuals".

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram that Israel had identified the remains of Bibas boys Ariel and Kfir, accusing Palestinian "terrorists" of killing them.

"According to the assessment of the relevant authorities and based on available intelligence and diagnostic indicators, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally killed in captivity in November 2023 by Palestinian terrorists," Adraee said.

Hamas has long maintained an Israeli air strike killed the Bibas family early in the war.

Hamas also handed over the body of a fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, a veteran journalist and long-time defender of Palestinian rights.

The bodies' repatriation is part of the six-week initial phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Jan. 19 and so far has led to the release of 19 living Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.